Sod cutter



A 1943- I Y B. c. RANNEY 2,327,930

SOD CUTTER Fged E 15. 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

Boivin Clark Ranney.

MI%&KML

A TTORNE Aug. 24, 1943. B. c. RANNE'Y SOD CUTTER Filed Jan. 13, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Bolvm Clark Ranney.

A TTORNE Y5.

Aug, 24, 1943. B. c. RANNEY SOD CUTTER Filed Jan. 15, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Bolvln Clark Runney.

W,7% 7fML A TTORNE Y5 Patented Aug. 24, 19431 so]; CUTTER U y her in CllarkIRanney, Gahannaomo aepneamn JanuaryiB, 1941,.Serial No. 374,164

My :invention relates. to a sod cutter; Ithas to'do,fmore particularly, .ith" the cutting of. sod

in rows, although it 'is not necessarily-limited completely sever the sodifrorn the ground. Fur thermore, thesep-rior: art sod cutters are usuallyof such a nature thatslight undulations in the terrainloverwhich the machine, works interfere withthe proper cutting of thesod. They meet such a nature that the. cuttingr'nember is: not

held-at" uniform depth. Also they are usually of. such a. nature that. whenrone. stripi's cut; it must be. rolled up and removed before the next strip adjacent thereto can be cut. .Also; some prior art: sod cutters will network under all. Prior .art. sod. cutters have been possessed of other disadvantages. i 1

weather conditions.

Oneof'the objects of my invention is tos pro vide a simple apparatus whereby rows of sod may be out both along the edgesand beneath with, arelatively simple mechanism.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus which will actually out the edges and sever the sodunderneath from the ground.

in one operation so that it is notnecessary' to later use any form of shovelor cutting tool but .to merely roll up the sod into suitable form for transportation. 1 I 4 Another object of my invention is to provide apparatus whereby the actual sod-cutting mechanism'is capable of vertical-adjustment to aocommodate the diiferent conditions encountered;

Another object-of my invention is to "provide a machine'of the type indicated which is of such a nature that the cutting member will be held at a uniform depth thereby resulting in sod being cut whichisofjuniform thickness."

Another object of my invention-isto provide amachine of the type indicated wherein the'cutting memberinaybe readily'adjusted to thedesired oper'ative position or to aicompletely ihoperative position. 4 r

Anether object bfmyinvention is'to-provide apparatus" iwli e'rebyf' an undercutting plow is utilized which will "avoid manyofthe difficulties The prior art sod cutters with which -I 4 can; (Cl. av -2 2 6).

characteristic of methods andapparatus hitherto utilized;- l Another object of my invention is to. provide a sod-cuttingmachine of such a nature that slight undulations in the surfaceover which it workswill have substantially no effect .on the sod-cutting operation.

Various other objects and advantages pear as this description progresses.

With the preferred'form of apparatuswhi'ch I utilize, a row of sod is cutby cutting the edge thereof and simultaneously undercutting one half of therow, thenturning' the machine and cuttingl the other'edge of therow and simultaneously undercutting the other half of the row.

The apparatusp'referably comprises a cutting blade or plow which serves to efiect the undercutting operation and a vertically disposed disk which serves to cut one edgeof the row. Preferably,.thsod-cutting blade or plow is of a substantially triangular nature with. its point ioremost" and iscombined with the cutting disk, which-is located in advance of the cutting blade or plowand substantially in line with the point thereof. Likewise, the apparatus is preferably provided with a means tor raisingand lowering the cutting blade and disk to insure the proper depth of cutting; In addition, I find it desirable to provide rollers for operating upon the topof the row of sod; with such rollers being provided with cavities designed to receive water or other Weighting substances, toinsure that the mechanism will be firmly held downwardly upon the.

row and to insure that the upper surface of the row of sod, which isfinally removed,'will be smooth andeven. V The preferred embodiment is sh'oWnin the accompanying drawings whereinsimilar characters of reference designate correof r p a tu spending parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of mypreierred type of apparatus.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic View of the cutting 7 disk and plow in operation cutting sod,

Figure 3 is a similar View of the plow in operation showing the rear edge thereof.

Figure. 4 is .a side elevation, partly broken away of my apparatus.

Figure 5 isa top plan view of my sod-cutting apparatus. s

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken through the plow or cutting blade along line 6-6 of Figure 5; Figure '7 is a diagrammatic view showing how will aptrated my sod-cutting machine as comprising a main frame I which is substantially square at its rear portion and which is of substantially triangular shape at its forward portion. The rear end of this frame carries a pair of brackets 2 which support trunnions 3. The trunnions 3 carry large rollers 4. The front end of the frame carries a transversely disposed inverted 'U- shaped bracket 5. This bracket 5 carries an upstanding bearing sleeve 6. A roller-supporting yoke member 7 is provided which has an inverted U-shaped portion 8 intermediate its ends which extends upwardly within the similarly shaped bracket 5. The yoke l carries, at the lower end of its arms, an axle 5 which supports a pair of rollers l0.

The rollers W are provided with a plurality of small projections I Ion the surface thereof. These projections are in staggered relationship and will prevent slipping of the rollers although they will only bite into the sod slightly. The rollers l6 are independently rotatable on the axle 9 and the joint therebetween is substantially midway of the outer extremities of the yoke I. The upper end of the portion 8 carries a sleeve member I2. A shaft l3 extends down through the bearing 6 and into the sleeve l2, as shown best in Figure 4., The lower end of the shaft i3 is keyed to member l2 by means of a. setscrew M. The shaft 13 may be rotated by means of a handwheel i5 keyed on the upper end thereof. It

will be apparent that when the handwheel 'I5 is rotated, the shaft [3 will rotate in the bearing 6 and this will swing the yoke member 1 and the double roller structure about the axis of the shaft l3. Thus, this provides means for guiding the machine.

The machine is made very compact and has a small wheelbase sothat undulations in the terrain over which it works will have a minimum effect on the sod-cutting operation.

, The rollers 4 are hollow and are provided with 1 suitable plug-closed inlets by means of which they may be filled with water or other substances to give them considerable weight. It is important to have the rollers of considerable weight so that they will hold the machine down during the cutting of thesod. When it is desired to move the machine to a different location, the water or other substance can be emptied from the rollers. If desired, rollers It! may also be filled with water although they will usually be of sufiicient weight. The front end of the frame I is provided with an eye member [5 by means of which the machine may be attached to a tractor, truck or other suitable power unit for pulling it along. It is preferably pulled by a long chain pull so that it can be guided relatively independently of the tractor. The eye member I6 is carried by a bolt [6a which may be positioned in any of the vertically spaced openings l6b formed in bracket ific so that the line of pull will always be horizontal and, therefore, will not tend to pull the sod-cutting member out of the sod.

The frame I is further provided with a transverse supporting member I! to which the lower end of a seat support I8 is bolted. The seat l9 down in position. Also, it provides aself-cleaning feature, since it permits small stones and dirt carried on the upper endof this support isso disposed that an operator sitting on it can readily operate the wheel I5.

The sod-cutting mechanism of "my machine will now be described in detail. It will-'be apparent from Figure 1 of the drawings that I provide a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending plates 2! which are suitably attached,

at their front ends to member Hand at their rear ends to the rear cross. member 2| of the frame. Mounted between these plates for vertical movement within guide members 22a is a vertically disposed rack member 22.

This rack. member has a rack section 23 on each side edge thereof. Each of the sections 23 is engaged by a gear 24. The gears 24 are keyed onshafts 25 which are rotatably carried by the plates 20. Each of the shafts 25 also-carry a pinion 26 which is keyed thereto. Each of the pinions 26 is en.--

gaged by one of a pair of gears 2'! which are keyed on shafts 28 rotatably mounted inone of the plates 20. The two gears 2l intermesh' with each other. One of the shafts 28 is'provide d" with an extension to which the lower end of a A hand lever 29 is keyed; It will be apparent that when the lever 29 is swung, the gears 24 will'be rotated in such a manner that the plate '22'will be raised or lowered- A ratchet mechanism 29a is provided for holding the lever 29 in any posiition'to which it is adjusted.

The plate 22 carries on its lower end the sodundercutting plate or plow 30. The plate 30 is horizontally disposed and the plate 22 is perpen edges 3| of the plate may be separate from the body portion of the plate so that they may.

be of hardened steel. The edges 3| are bolted,

as at 32, to the; body portion of the plate and may be easily removed-and replaced. The plate 30 is upwardly bowed transversely and is inclined upwardly slightlytowards the rear, as indicated best at 33 in Figure 3. I have found in actual neath the plate which tends to hold the plate to pass back beneath the plate. 'The point of the plate is turned down slightly, as shown in Figure 4, so that the plate will tend to enter the 'ground instead of tendingtoemerge from the ground.

The plate 22 also carries a forwardly ,project-- ing arm 34 which has itsrear end bolted thereto as at 34a. The forward end of this arm 34 supports an edge-cutting disk 35. "This disk 35., is

" movement is permitted. A spring, 38 on the pin 31 below the sleeve 38 normally forcesEthe'cutting disk 35 downwardly but permits upward movement in case the diskstrikes ,a stoneor other hard object. The disk 35 is supported inaligne ment with the point of the plate 30. ,;The lower,

edge of the disk 35' is normally held at a level which is lower than the lower surface of plate 30 so that the-disk will'completely sever the edge of the strip of sod, as will laterappear.

The plate 30'is ,V-shape'dor' triangular in outline with its .apex directed forwardly. As illustrated in Figure 6, the cutting It will be noted from Figure ,5. that .the rear end ofplate 38 is somewhat wider-than the. dis'-' tance between the inner edges of rear rollersl; Thus; part of the sod being cut is disposed betweenplate 30 and portions of rollers 4 and this serves;

back between which the plate extends.

simultaneously adjust the edge-cutting disk-35, When the proper adjustment hasbeenm'adaflthe.

machine is pulled along by.

a tractor. or other suitable power unit.

At the startxof the cutting operationthe:

weight of the machine will be restingfon plate Wand the rollers 4. will be spaced from the surface. However, as the machine ispulled along,

the point of plate willenter thefsod and the,

plate will assume a position at the proper depth during continued movement :of the machine.

, The blade ill will undercut the. sod while the cutting disk 35,- will slit the sod along a line in alignment with the point of plate 30 andwith plate 22, as shown best in Figure 2, and will com-.

pletely. sever it. The plate 3!] will operate be heath the sod at the proper depth and awedging action will be exerted onthe sod which will tend to lift it and which is produced by the how.-

ing of the plate as shown in Figure 3.? The blade 39 will be self-cleaning: as; previously stated. Also, because the rear end of'the plate 30 overlaps rollers 4, the plate willbe more, effec-. tivelysheld at the proper level. Also, because the machine has a short Wheelbase, since every thing is compact, irregularities in the surfacewill have substantially no effect on the position ofplatetilfl.

In the use of my machine, I prefer to follow the method which'will now be described with particular reference to .Figure '7; To cut the first row, the. machine'ispulled along with the blade 38 undercuttingonly one half of the row.

Simultaneously, the cutting disk will produce a straight outer edge on the first row of sod cut. The inner roller ill will smooth the sod before it is out; When the machine reaches the end of the row, the plate 30 and disk35 may be lifted and the machine may then be turned without tearing or cutting up the sod during turning. When the machine is turned, it is so positioned that the outer roller 4 will operate on the portion of the strip of sod already cut. The rollers l9 and the inner roller t will operate on the sod yet to be out. When the machine is turned, as shown in Figure 7, the sod will be undercut for a width corresponding to that of the plate 3 The outer half of the plate 30 will undercut the other half of the first row of porting manner that it is of uniform thickness. necessary to roll up one row of sod before anation. It. will be noted that the rollers lfl overlap the rollers .4.

In Figures 8 and 9- I have illustrated a modification of my invention- The machine illustrated in these drawings is exactly'the same as that previouslydescribed with the exception that it is self-propelled." For this purpose it. is provided witha power unit 40. This unit 40 drives a transverse shaft 4| and a longitudinal shaft 42. The shaft 4| drives a pair of sprocket chains 43 which drive sprockets 44. that are keyed on the axles of. rollers 4a. The shaft 42 extends for-n \vardly. and is connected by a pair of universal joints. 45 and an extensible'shaft portion 42a to a set of bevel gears 46, carried by the roller-supyoke 1a. These gears 46 drive a sprocket chain drivel! which drives the axle do; (on. which are; keyed the rollers I00; The

- rollers 4a and Hlcare provided with projections Ha to'provide increased traction. :Thus, I provide a unit which isof sucha nature that it will be self-propelled and can be readily guided.

With; my machine the' sod is cut in such a other can becut. Furthermore, it is not neces& sary to use hand tools to completely severthe sod. Also, my sod-cutter will work under all weather conditions. whether the sod is extremely dry'or' extremely wet.

It will be apparent from the above description that Ihave provided a machine having a number of advantages. have been discussed and otherswill be apparent from' the drawings and the following claims.

. Having thus described my invention, what I c1aim ,is:

1. Apparatus for. cutting sod comprising .a frame, means 7 for, supporting the frame for movement along, the surface of. the sod, said meansjcomprising a, pair of rollers disposed on sod while the cutting disk 35 will simultaneously sever and form the inner edge of the first row of sod. Thus, it will be apparent that with this machine, a row of sod is cut by cutting the outer edge thereof and simultaneously undercutting half of the row in a pass of the machine in the other direction. The rollers will serve to smooth.

the sod both before and after the cutting operopposite sides of the frame at the rear end thereoflfa pair of rollers disposed in side-by-side relationship at theforward end of the frame, said rear rollers overlapping the pathsof the forward rollers, a yoke rotatably supporting said forward rollers and pivotaliy connected to the forward end of the frame, steering means for swinging said yoke about its pivot, said forward rollers being provided with roughened surfaces and being independently rotatable tofacilitate steering, said rear rollers being hollow so that they may be filled withwater or other heavy substance, a sodcutting" mechanism supported by said frame, said 'sodcutting mechanism comprising a sod undercutting plate of triangular form with its apex directed forwardly, said plate being substantially horizontally disposed and being bowed upwardly and transversely and being inclined upwardly towards the rear end thereof,

. a vertically disposed plate in alignment with the apex of said sod undercutting plate and having its lower end connected to said sod undercutting plate, said vertical plate being mounted for verticalmovement in guides carried by said frame,

means for moving said plate vertically and holding it in adjusted position, said means comprising gear and rack mechanism, said sod undercutting plate being disposed below the level of said rear rollers and having its rear portion extending laterally beneath said rollers, a forwardly projecting arm carried by said vertically disposed plate, said arm carrying at its forward end a vertically disposed rotatable edge cutting disc, said disc being carried by a rearwardly ex It is not.

Most of these advantages" tending yokewhich is rotatably mounted and normally held downwardly by resilient means,

opposite sides of the frame at the rear end there-i of, a pair of rollers disposed in side-by-side relationship at the forward end of the frame, said rearrollersoverlapping-the path of the forward rollers, a yoke rotatably supporting said forward rollers and pivotally connected to the forward ends of the frame, steering means for swinging said yoke about its pivot, said forward rollers being independently rotatable steering, said rear rollers being hollow so that they .may be ifilled with water or other heavy substance, a sod :cutting mechanismsupported by said frameysaid sod cutting mechanism comprising a s'od' undercutting plate of triangular form with its apex directed'forwardly, said plate being substantially horizontally disposed and being bowed upwardly and transversely and being inclined upwardly towards the rear, a vertically disposed plate in alignment with'the apex of said sod undercutting plate and having its lower end connected to said sod undercutting plate, said vertical plate. being mounted for vertical movement in guide'sf carried by saidnframe, means for moving said plate vertically and holding it in adjusted position, said sodv undercutting late being disposed below the level of said rear rollers and having its rear portion extending laterally beneath said rollers, a forwardly projecting arm carried by said vertically disposed plate, said arm carrying at its forward end a vertically disposed rotatable edge cutting disc which is norto facilitate I other heavy substance, a sod cutting mechanism supported-"by said frame, said sod cutting'mechanism comprising a sod undercutting plate of triangular form with its apex directed forwardly, said plate being substantially horizontally dis-.

rear end thereof, a vertically disposed ,plate'in. alignment with the apex of said sod undercutting plate and having itslower edge connected to said sod .undercutting plate, said vertical plate. being mounted for vertical movement in guidescarried-bysaidframeymeans for moving said plate vertically and holding it in adjusted position',. said means comprising gear and rack mechanism, a forwardly projecting arm carried by said vertically disposed plate, said arm carinally held by resilient means with its cutting edge below the level of said sod undercutting plate, said disc being disposed in front of said sod undercutting plate in alignment with the apex thereof and the joint between said forward rollers.

3. Apparatus for cutting sod comprising a I supporting the frame for movement along the surface of the sod, said rying at its forward end a vertically .disposed rotatable edge cutting disc, said disc being dis-- posed in. front of said sod undercutting platein alignmentwith the'apex thereof, said disc nor-- mally being held by resilient means at a lower level than that of said sod undercutting plate. 4. Apparatus forv cutting -.so d comprising-a. frame, means for-supporting the frame for movement along the surface. of the sod, said means comprising a pair of rollers'disposed on opposite sides of the frame at the rearend thereof, rollers for supporting the forward ends .of said frame, said forward and rear rollers having overlapping paths so that a predetermined width of sod will be rolled, a sod cutting mechanism supported by.

said. frame, said .scdcutting mechanism com prising. a sod: undercutting plate of. triangular form with its apex directed forwardly,.said plate being substantially horizontally 'disposed,-a'ver tically disposed platein alignment with the apex of said sod undercutting plate and having its.

lowerend. connected to said sod undercutting plate, said vertical plate being mounted for ,ver-- tical movement in guides carried by said frame, means. for moving said plate vertically and holding it in adjusted position, said sod undercutting plate being disposed below the level of said rear rollers and having .its rear portion extending. laterallyxbeneath said rolls, a forwardlyrprojecting arm carried by said vertically disposed plate, said arm carrying at'its forward end a vertically disposed rotatable edge cutting disc which n0rmal-ly has its cutting edge below the level of said sod undercutting plate, said, disc being disposed in front of said sod undercutting plate in alignment with the apex thereof. 

